'I thought my eyeball exploded:' OC teen suffers severe injury after firework mishap on 4th of July

FULLERTON, Calif. (KABC) -- It's been nearly two weeks since 18-year-old Taylor Kim's outlook on life changed forever, and now, she's simply trying to heal.

"There was a lot of bruising," she said.

The young student was celebrating the 4th of July with her parents in Los Angeles County when someone allegedly lit an illegal firework near her.

"We didn't see the person who hurt me light up a firework, and as I turned around, it just exploded and it all happened so fast," she recalled.

Taylor, who recently graduated high school and is set to pursue a nursing degree at Biola University in the fall, only remembers hearing a loud boom then being in pain.

"After it hit me, I started to bleed everywhere, and I was just thinking about my future, like what my life was going to be because I thought my eyeball exploded," said Taylor.

That's when her parents, Robert and Jane, rushed her to the hospital.

"It was terrifying," said Taylor's father. "I was trying to gather my thoughts because it just felt like a bomb went off."

"She's covering over her left eye [saying,] 'My eye, my eye ... I think my eye popped,'" he added. "I'm just like, 'Oh my gosh. That thing penetrated.' It was the worst thought, worst image."

Taylor suffered a ruptured globe, a severe eye injury, and will need to have multiple surgeries. Her parents don't know if doctors will be able to save her vision.

"Is it healing? Is it healing correctly? Is it not healing? Is it getting infected?" her dad asked.

Taylor's dream of going to college may have to be delayed, but Taylor, along with her family, believes she will be able to continue with her goals of becoming a nurse in the future.

"We have hope, and that's the only thing that gets us through," Jane said.

"I know that God is working, and I know that he will help me, and I'm just always praying, and I know that he will heal me," said Kim.

The Kim family has set up a GoFundMe to try to get Taylor the best treatment possible.